This book is a collection of essays that covers the foundational principles of second-order cybernetics, exploring how observers or participants both impact and are impacted by the systems they observe.
Readers will explore and meditate on thought-provoking ideas such as understanding understanding, balancing autonomy and control, requisite variety, and viable systems. The essays cover key thinkers like Ross Ashby, Heinz von Foerster, Stafford Beer, and Humberto Maturana, addressing concepts such as self-reference, autonomy, and the role of the observer in constructing reality.
Unlike traditional first-order cybernetics, which emphasizes control and feedback in external systems, second-order cybernetics investigates the recursive nature of systems that observe and regulate themselves.
The "system" is simply a mental construct dependent on the observer. It is the observer who decides the boundaries, perspectives and interrelationships. This systems thinking is pluralistic, observer based and ethics based.
But, how do these insights help tech. practitioners, executives and entrepreneurs?
Grab the book and connect the dots for yourself!
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